> plaintext? TLS usage is mandatory and passwords are not stored in plaintext. I think your knowledge about how IRC is used now is a little outdated.
Actually I wondered if that might be the case so I checked TFM: https://freenode.net/kb/answer/registration
Plaintext negotiation is my complaint. I doubt we'd be discussing this if it was plaintext storage. Not even the most fanatical IRC proponent would be okay with that.
> TLS usage is mandatory and passwords are not stored in it plaintext. I think your knowledge about how IRC is used now is a little outdated.
> VPN -> znc -> IRC
Where is your znc hosted? How much does it cost? Are you paying for a VPN service (please no)?
Even having a decent in-home internet connection, a way to route traffic back into your network, and a raspberry pi to host it on is a tall order.